Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center LEND

Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities programs provide long-term, graduate level interdisciplinary training to health professionals . The purpose is to develop leadership potential to improve the health status of infants, children, and adolescents with or at risk for neurodevelopmental and related disabilities and to enhance the systems of care for these children and their families. The program focuses on health conditions of mental retardation, neurodegenerative and acquired neurological disorders and multiple handicaps. All LEND Programs operate within a university system and most have collaborative arrangements with local university hospitals, children's hospitals, and/or health care centers.

The Center promotes the understanding of neurological, cognitive and behavioral development associated with developmental disabilities, emphasizing mental retardation. To accomplish this, the Center conducts basic and applied research to determine the biological and environmental factors that influence typical and atypical development. It provides training and service programs that directly benefit people with developmental disabilities and their families.